AS Monaco have put one foot into the Champions League qualifying playoffs courtesy of a 3-1 victory in the away leg of their tie against Young Boys this evening.
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The two sides played out an uneventful opening 45 minutes without a single clear chance for either side, Miralem Sulejmani coming closest with a long-range drive that was comfortable for Danijel Subasic.
The first real opening of the match went the way of the hosts six minutes into the second half as Yuya Kubo came within inches of breaking the deadlock with an effort from the edge of the box that came back off the post.
That near miss appeared to give Young Boys a boost, and they came close again five minutes later when Raphael Nuzzolo's cross was nodded narrowly wide by Guillaume Hoarau from close range.
The pressure continued to arrive from the hosts as they went in search of the opener, but Subasic was able to deny Sulejmani before Kubo saw his rebound cleared off the line shortly after the hour mark.
Young Boys were made to pay for their profligacy just one minute later as Monaco clinched an away goal against the run of play, Layvin Kurzawa firing home a first-time effort into the bottom corner from inside the box.
Guido Carrillo was then introduced from the bench and made an immediate impact to give the visitors a second, nodding home Joao Moutinho's free kick to put his side in control of the tie.
That sparked a goal frenzy completely out of keeping with the opening 45 minutes as Young Boys hit straight back through Nuzzolo's strike from a Scott Sutter cross.
However, the two-goal lead was restored as quickly as it had been halved when Anthony Martial set up Mario Pasalic to drill one in from the edge of the box with 15 minutes remaining.
The action calmed down in the closing stages, although Subasic did deny Young Boys a late lifeline to leave his side in a commanding position heading into next week's encounter as the Stade Louis II.
Barney Corkhill
